Prosocial behavior across different ages: adolescents and adults

Approximately fifty years ago, scientific interest in prosocial behavior - defined as voluntary and intentional actions aimed at benefiting others (Eisenberg & Miller, 1987), began to emerge. Although research attention has varied over time, interest in prosociality has remained persistent and increasingly interdisciplinary, engaging both the natural sciences, which study human life as part of the natural world, and the social sciences, which investigate human behavior and social organization. This thesis focuses on interpersonal functioning, particularly the tendency to connect with others through feelings or dispositions that drive voluntary actions to benefit them. Specifically, the present research investigates individuals’ beliefs in their own capability to understand and respond empathically to others’ emotions and needs, with a particular focus on feelings of concern or sorrow for others, a core component of prosocial behavior. The theoretical framework integrates Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (1986, 1997, 2001) with Eisenberg’s work on prosocial development and empathy-related responding (2003, 2006, 2010). To operationalize prosocial behavior in the context of this research, we focus on three intentional actions: helping, comforting, and sharing (Dunfield, 2014; Eisenberg et al., 2015). The Ph.D. project comprised three studies investigating prosocial behavior, defined as voluntary actions intended to benefit others (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998), across different ages: adolescents and adults. The overarching aim was to examine determinants of prosociality, specifically empathic self-efficacy and sympathy, in order to provide new insights into prosocial behavior across development. Taken together, the thesis examines three different longitudinal data whether: among adolescents, different informants provide complementary information about prosocial behavior; empathic self-efficacy and prosocial behavior mutually reinforce each other in everyday life; and sympathy promotes prosocial behavior in adults’ daily experiences. In conclusion, Prosocial behavior constitutes a cornerstone of moral and social development, supporting well-being and adaptive functioning across the lifespan.